


Lore Entry: Welcome Home (Parts I & II)

by 1500birds



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Cayde being a good Vanguard, Kinderguardian, Loss, Talk about permadeath, Then this is the fic for you!, coping with loss, ever wondered how guardians honor their dead?, filling on lore gaps, hunter oc taking up cayde's duties, lore entry, someone has to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 18:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19301764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1500birds/pseuds/1500birds
Summary: Cayde greets a kinderguardian home after her first mission gone wrong, and talks about dealing with loss as a GuardianYears after, Cayde is gone, but there's still kinderguardians who need their Vanguard when things go south.(aka, despite life and death being pretty important in Destiny, it's not discussed much. I also think a plaque in the ground is a dumbass way to honor a Guardian, let alone a Vanguard. So here's some bits to fill in the gaps.)





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> this will include a bunch of Guardian OCs, but there's no bigger story outside of the context of the game

Cayde-6 wasn't a stranger to bad news. He knew the second he stepped into the command room that it was on its way; he could tell by the wrinkle on Zavala’s brow, by the set of Ikora’s shoulders.

 

“How bad?” He asks, keeping his voice light. Thats half his job, in his opinion. Keeping things light.

 

“Fireteam Nyx is on their way back from their operation in the Saharan region,” Zavala starts saying. “The mission was a  success, but they lost a member-“

 

“Who?” Cayde asks, and he hopes to whoever's listening it’s not his Hunter. She was young, she had potential, she actually almost beat him at poker twice already.

 

“Erynn Kans. One of my Titans.”

 

Despite himself, Cayde feels relieved. He starts backing away, back towards the door. “Alright, well, I’m gonna go ahead and get going to meet her-“

 

Zavala straightens up, brows pulling together. “Leaving? We need to prepare a debrief-“

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know debrief is important and all, but that Hunter’s never lost someone before.” He’s at the door by now, getting ready to step around the corner. “I’m gonna be there when she gets home.” As Cayde turns fully to walk away, he hears Ikora say something, and Zavala doesn't come after him, so he makes note to remember to do something for her later.

 

He gets to the courtyard just in time to see the two survivors transmat in. The Warlock takes a few steps forward, his head held high, shoulders stiff, and then stops to turn to the Hunter, who looks as if she might crumble. Cayde approaches just as the Warlock reaches out to put his hand on her shoulder.

 

“Hey there kiddo,” he greets, throwing an arm around the Hunter's shoulder. To the Warlock, he says, “Go on ahead buddy, I got it from here.”

 

At first, it looks like the Warlock may argue, but he nods and heads in the direction of command. Cayde gives his Hunter a quick once-over. Her hair is sticking up in all directions, still holding static from raw arc energy. In her hand she’s holding a piece of cloth- a Titan’s mark.

 

“Cayde,” she says, as if only just realizing who he was.

 

“The one and only.” He starts walking, using his arm around her to guide and lend her some support. “Come on sparky, let’s go.”

 

“Where?”

 

“You’ll see.”

 

She’s apparently too tired to argue, so Cayde leads them through the tower. Passing Guardians offer greetings, and the Hunter manages to nod to them. A good sign, he thinks. The greetings fade, until eventually they’re alone, approaching a door emblazoned with the symbol of the Guardians.

 

“Where are we?” The Hunter asks, looking around. “I’ve never been here.”

 

“No one really comes here unless they have a reason to,” Cayde says as they get close enough, and the door opens. He lets the Hunter go in first, walking slowly.

 

The room is large, shaped like a dome. Rows of walls wrap in circles around the central fixture; a shard of the Traveler itself, encased in a glass sphere, glowing softly. Cayde follows the Hunter as she walks towards the shard, pauses to read the inscription in the glass.

 

_There is no death where there is Light._

 

Without looking at her, Cayde walks past, to the monolith just beyond. Metal plates are fixed upon it; the name and symbol of each of the fallen Vanguards.

 

“The Cryptarchs have some fancy name for this place, but we mostly just call it the Lightroom,” Cayde says. He turns to look at his Hunter, who’s staring at him with a face even he can’t read. “The name of just about every Guardian who’s ever fallen is in this room.”

 

The Hunter looks around again before saying, “There’s… more than I expected.”

 

“A lot are from when the City was still new. But a lot are also just… bad luck. A good shot. Wrong place, worse time.”

 

“Do you know many here?” The Hunter asks, a crack forming in her voice as she stares back at him.

 

Cayde looks back at the Vanguard names. “Yeah. A few.”

 

“Does it ever get easier?”

 

“No,” he says, and he turns away from the monolith, walks back to the Hunter. “Look, kid, when you live as long as us Guardians, you lose a lot of people. People you mighta known since your Ghost found ya, people you mighta died next to a few times, people who’ve had your back. It doesn’t get easier.” Cayde stands next to his Hunter and looks at the Traveler’s shard. “We’re not immortal, kiddo, and theres plenty of uglies out there just itchin’ to prove it.”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the Hunter raise the Titan’s mark in her hands, rubbing a thumb over the cloth. “I should… I should leave this here, right?”

 

“Yeah. The Cryptarchs will put it behind his name, when it’s time.”

 

She takes a few steps forward and places the mark under the Traveler’s shard, the pale light washing over the red cloth.

 

Cayde puts his hand on her shoulder again. “Come on, kid, let’s get some ramen in ya.”


	2. Part II

“Operation Boarhead failed,” Zavala says as soon as Leigh walks into command, and she knows that tone, knows that look, remembers hearing Ramis and Taeko and _Cayde_ and a dozen other names, so she stops in her tracks barely past the threshold.

 

“Did anyone come back?” she asks.

 

“One. Your Hunter. She’s been debriefed, but she needs…”

 

_…her Vanguard_ goes unsaid. They both know no one can offer that now, but Leigh’s the closest they’ve got.

 

“I’ll take care of her,” Leigh says.

 

She walks through the halls of the new Tower, trying to remember what to do- “Charlie, send a message to Spicy Ramen for two customs, you know the ones, schedule it for an hour from now- and get Anders on the line. Do you know the Guardian’s location?”

 

Her Ghost twirls his shell as he circles above her head, his form of pacing, and after a moment: “She’s in the courtyard. Your order is sent. Contacting Anders… got him. Patching…”

 

“What’s up, Not-Quite-Vanguard?” Anders’s voice echoes in her head through her implant.

 

“Boarhead failed. Only one survivor, I’m going to meet her now. I need you to get some people together and meet me at the ramen shop in an hour.”

 

“Shit. Shit, wasn’t she one of the kinderguardians? Only been kickin’ around for a month?

 

“That’s the one.”

 

“ _Shit._ Alright, I know who to get. Good luck with her.”

 

The line clicks out, and Charlie pipes up again. “Spicy Ramen confirmed order. Anything else?”

 

“No. Thanks, little buddy.”

 

“I _told_ you to stop calling me that,” Charlie says indignantly, and Leigh cracks a smile.

 

She reaches the Courtyard, scans the small crowd of Guardians wandering through the transmat zone. Despite the bustle, the Hunter is easy to spot. She’s sitting on a crate near the postmaster, looking around like she’s in a daze. Leigh approaches and the Hunter stares at her blankly, brows pulling together in confusion.

 

“Hey kid, welcome back. Let’s go for a walk.”

~

She takes the Hunter down into the city, doesn’t try to make her talk. Some people greet them, some just watch warily- after all, both are in full armor, and the survivor is covered in grime and scratches. Leigh stops at a vendor and buys flowers, and as she does points out a few buildings, a good food stand. The Hunter offers no replies but an occasional nod. That’s good enough. At least she’s listening.

 

When they finally reach the foot of the old tower, the Hunter is looking around, eyes wide. “I haven’t been here before,” she says, her voice timid and hoarse.

 

Leigh leads the way on the path of cleared rubble. “Probably a good thing. Older Guardians get pretty protective over it.”

 

They lapse into silence again, stepping into the shadow of the Tower, treading through broken concrete and rebar. Ahead, a burning light looms closer. Leigh glances over, sees the Hunter squint, trying to make out what they’re approaching.

 

Two half-circle walls, etched with names, surround a statue of three Guardians- one of each class- standing on a pedestal, back to back to back. In a circle around the base is a ring of fire, the flames licking up in different colors. Leigh watches the Hunter stare at it, then look down at the inscription.

 

“ _So they may never be without the light again,_ ” the Hunter reads aloud. She looks up, and Leigh follows her gaze to the walls, where hundreds of names are etched in the concrete. Above each one is a symbol declaring their class, made of cut glass the color of their element. Flowers, trinkets, and notes litter the ground where wall meets earth.

 

Silently, Leigh walks to the left wall, crouches in a familiar place. Ninth column. Twelfth row.

 

“Hayden was a Warlock. We met in the Crucible, bashing heads on opposite teams until we realized we’d work better together.” Leigh touches a finger to his symbol. “He was a riot. Best Sparrow racer I’ve met. We got in so much trouble together that Zavala threatened to forcibly disband us.” She stands, steps to the side, touches another name. “Ritz was the reason he didn’t. She was a Warlock too, but your more cliché type- loved books, loved intel. Kept us in line. She had a little terrarium in her room, with moss from Io, and a little snail, and she’d freak if we went too close.”

 

Leigh places the flowers at the foot of the wall, on top of wilted petals and crumpled pictures, before standing and taking a step back. “Ritz died in those first few blasts, before anyone even knew it was the Cabal attacking us. Hayden went down when we were on our way to distress calls in the fringe districts. Fought after the Light went out ‘till he ran out of bullets, and even then he fell trying to throw fists.”

 

She doesn’t look at the Hunter, doesn’t pause, because if she does, she’ll break, and this isn’t about her. “They weren’t the first ones I lost, either. There was Enori, gone after the SEVA crisis, and Felton-10 during it. Shen, my mentor when I was still fresh. Erryn, from my first fireteam, even before then.”

 

Finally, Leigh turns to the Hunter, who stands staring at her silently with tears rolling down her cheeks. “The life of a Guardian… is a long one,” Leigh says, gently. “It’s a long fight. You meet a lot of people, make a lot of good friends, and lose a lot. Some people you know for a day, some you know for decades. And no matter how long you’ve been up and running you don’t ever get used to it, ‘cause it’s just rare enough to sting. For all the times we’re called immortal, we’re not. And something out there’s gonna prove it.”

 

The Hunter covers her face with her hands, tried to turn away as she cries, and Leigh approaches her to hook one arm around her shoulders. The Hunter wraps her arms around Leigh, presses her face into her shoulder.

 

“I sh-shouldn’t be the one who g-got to come home,” the Hunter says, muffled. “What do I do?”

 

“You keep going,” Leigh answers, holding her tightly. “And you’ve got people to help you. You’re not gonna be alone. Hunters have each other’s backs.”

 

* * *

 

When the Hunter calms down, they make their way back to the new Tower- she’s still quiet, still sniffling, but she’s far more relaxed. When they get to the ramen shop, Anders is there with a small gaggle of Hunters. He gets up when they approach, pulls the rookie into a hug without warning before dragging her to sit in the middle.

 

“Hey there, kid! Come on, we got you some food- best ramen in the City, but you probably know that by now. I’m Anders, that’s Rhys over there, and Shark-4- oh, and Grim there in the back, he doesn’t talk much…”

 

Leigh takes her own bowl, looks over to the spade carved into the bar, and smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: battlefinch.tumblr.com (art), 1500birds.tumblr.com (personal)  
> twitter: @battlefinch


End file.
